Background:

The fleet arrived on the coast, disembarking near the town of Brionne in the southern end of the Bretonnian kingdom. The expeditionary force was led by the Sea Helm and his partner Malaron, a mage trained in the pyromancy. The expedition’s goal was that of research and exploration, and so they marched past the city of Brionne and Quenelles in search of artifacts of magic to study. Their intent was to avoid the forest where their kin dwell at all costs. They had no business with the treefolk.

As they approached the forest, it seemed the trees had a different plan.

PRE-GAME INTERVIEW:

High Elves: Going with fire as the lore for my mage given the amount of flammable he has. A lot of high toughness targets, I don’t know how this is going to go. First time fielding Dragon Princes. Magic or fire can’t touch them.

Wood Elves: There are two big threats, I think: Swordmasters & Dragon Princes. I must see how to deal with those. Also, I rolled for terrible spells that won’t help me too much.

DEPLOYMENT:

The battlefield featured a Bretonnian church of the lady on the Wood Elves’ right flank, along with a hill. The Wood Elves’ side of the field had two forests as well. High Elves deploy with the Skycutter & the Reavers (vanguarding a bit) on their left flank. On the right flank, the Dragon Princes and holding the middle, the two combat units of Swordmasters & Sea Guard.Wood Elves deploy their archers down the middle, right the Eternal Guard block guarding the right flank and the big heavy-hitting treefolk on the left side.

TURN 1 WOOD ELVES

Charges: None.

Movement: All units move forward, some marching. Deepwood scouts move to the other side of the chapel, aiming at the Reavers.

Magic: 9v5. Throne of Veins is attempted on 4 dice, but is dispelled. Out of range for Awakening.

Magic: 6v5 – 6 dies are thrown at a medium level fireball towards the Treekin. The spells goes off and 8 hits are generated. 2 Wounds go through and are not saved by the Treekin. Because they’re flammable, 2 wounds become 4 and one Treekin goes down.

Panic test is passed on a 10 (General’s leadership)

Shooting: Sea Guard attempt to go after Treekin. Many misses, no wounds. Skycutter aims at Treeman and hits…! But then fails to wound. Reavers fail to wound the Deepwood Scouts

TURN 2 WOOD ELVES

Charges: None.

Movement: Treekin, Treeman and Ancient Treeman position themselves to be able to help each other out in the event of a fight. Deepwood scouts reform to stare at the Reavers. Eternal Guard feel brave and go at it down the middle.

Magic: Treeman Ancient chooses not to cast anything. By mistake, his only unit in range of “Awakening” is the Dragon Prince unit, and they have Banner of the World Dragon.

TURN 2 HIGH ELVES

Charges: Swordmaster need a 10 to get to Treeman and get a pair of “5”’s and they’re in! Dragon Princes complete the charge against the Treekin.

Movement: Skycutter moves on the Eternal Guard’s right flank while the Reavers rally and position themselves behind the Eternal Guard.

Magic: 6v5 – The Mage casts a medium-sized Fireball at the Glade Guard unit and it ball of fire takes out 4 archers. The Treeman Ancient is able to dispel the Cascading Fire cloak.

Shooting: Skycutter misses (even at short range), reavers fail to wound. But Sea Guard come through 3 kills on the Eternal Guard.

Combat: Dragon Princes vs Treekin: Princes swing and immediately produce 4 wounds, killing one treekin who had 1 wound, and leaving the other with 1 wound left. Horses try to finish off but the elder Treekin survives. He swings back with 3 attacks and misses.Having lost combat by 6 (but with general’s leadership 10 nearby) he rolls looking for a “4”. And…. He rolls double “1”s! He stays put!

Treeman vs Swordmasters: Swordmaster wound twice, but the can’t penetrate the Treeman’s armor. No wounds go through. The Treeman swing back and stomps on the unit killing a total of 5 Swordmasters. Needing a “5” to stat, they break, and run through their Dragon Princes mates and pop on the other side. The treeman overruns and comes into contact with Dragon Princes on the flank.

TURN 3 WOOD ELVES

Movement: Glade Guard reposition to have both the Skycutter & Reavers in the front arc. Deepwood Scouts reform to do the same.

Magic: 10v5 – Treeman Ancient casts Throne with 5 dice and it goes off. Mage decides to hold his power for the next spell. Treeman Ancient uses 5 dice to cast Awakening of the Wood on fleeing Swordmasters and it goes off with a 16. Mage throws 5 dice at it and the dices yield a 15. The spell goes off, but doesn’t manage to wound thanks to a pair of “1”s on the to-wound roll.

Shooting: Deepwood Scouts & glade guard finish off the Reavers.

Combat: Dragon Princes swing first with one going for the Treeman and one for the Treeman Ancient. Both fail to wound. The Champion and two others go after the Treekin Elder and finish him off.Treeman Ancient misses with all attacks. Treeman hits with all, but only wound with 3. One of the wounds is saved, but two Dragon Princes go down.

Eternal Guard attack with only 11 attacks (spears on the charge) and produce 2 wounds. The Sea Helm and the Mage fail to wound. The Sea Guard unit however produces 4 wounds.Eternal Guard lose combat, but are stubborn. They need a 9 to stay and…. They roll an 11! Eternal Guard break and run 5’’ backwards. Sea Guard chase but only roll a “4” and remain 1’’ behind.

TURN 3 HIGH ELVES

Charges: Sea guard charge fleeing Eternal Guard and kill it on the spot. The Skycutter charges the Glade Guard in the forest who stand and shoot and produce 1 wound. The Skycutter passes dangerous terrain.

Movement: Swordmasters attempt to rally, but fail, rolling an “11” and they run off the table.

Magic: 11v5 thanks to double “5”s and a channel. 6 Dices are rolled for the biggest Fireball, hurdled towards the Deepwood Scouts and it goes off with irresistible force! A roll of 6 on the chart sees the 5 Sea guard closest to the caster dead and the Mage getting wounded. However, all Deepwood Scouts perish in smoke.

Combat: Dragon Princes fail to wounds with all attacks. But in response, both Treeman have terrible rolls. No wounds at all are produced! Cobmat resolution sees a flank for the Wood Elves and a banner for the Dragon Princes. The Prince’s Musician wins the combat, and the Treeman must test! Both pass easily though.

TURN 4 WOOD ELVES

Charges: None. Remaining units in combat.

Movement: None. Remaining units in combat.

Magic: 7v4 – Treeman Ancient, thanks to the Throne being in play throws 6 dice at Awakening of the Wood in the direction of the Skycutter. STR 6 hits leave the Skycutter dead after being attacked by the nearby woods.

Combat: Dragon Princes fail to wound again with all attacks. Horses miss too. This time, the Ancient and regular Treeman combine for many wounds and the Dragon Princes succumb.

TURN 4 HIGH ELVES

Charges: None.

Movement: Sea Guard reform to face the remaining Treefolk.

Magic: 4v2 – The Mage casts Cascading fire cloak on his unit successfully. The Ancient lets it go. The Mage casts small fireball in the direction of the treeman and he’s successful. However, D6 Str 4 hits do no damage to the Treeman.

TURN 5 WOOD ELVES

Shooting: The Treemen use Strangleroots to shoot at the Sea Guard and down 3 Guards.

Combat: None

TURN 5 HIGH ELVES

Charges: Sea Guard decide to charge Ancient.

Movement: None.

Magic: 8v4 – Cascading Fire Cloak goes off. The mage shoots a fireball at the treeman but is dispelled.

Shooting: None.

Combat: Sea Helm fails to wound but the Sea guard unit produce one wound. The Ancient misses with all his attacks. Thunderstomp yields a “2”, and only 1 wounds!Combat Resolution sees the Ancient lose combat, but he’s stubborn on LD10 and he passes his test.

TURN 6 WOOD ELVES

Charges: Treeman charges Sea Guard’s flank.

Movement: None. All units in combat.

Magic: Ancient uses his dice to dispel Cascading Fire Cloak.

Shooting: None.

Combat: The entire High Elf unit fails to wound as does the Sea Helm. Opposite side of the action sees the Ancient produce 2 wounds, and the Treeman go after the Sea Helm. 4 Wounds go through, and the Shield Of Merwyn does nothing as the Battle Standard Bearer is being attacked on the flank and can’t parry. The Sea Helm goes down and the subsequent Thunderstomps from the towering living trees elinminate the entire unit leaving the Mage alone. He promptly proceeds to run away.

POST-MATCH:

High Elves: Wow – What a game! Had a great time despite being on the losing end. The concern I had in the beginning was correct: I didn’t have enough to bring down the treemen. Swordmasters at STR 5 failed to wound. The Dragon Princes got bogged down thanks to a massive double “1”s by the Treekin, so they were attacking at STR 3 most of the fight. The Skycutter’s botl never connected. The only ones that were able to inflict a wound were the Sea Guard with their bows and a fireball.

Regardless, happy with how the Sea Guard performed. The rest? Average at best!

Wood Elves: Phewww! What a game! When the Ancient lost his combat in turn 5, I think I stopped breathing for a second while the dice were being rolled for leadership. Funny enough, I dealt with the two main concerns I had (Swordmasters early on and the Dragon Princes towards the end). The Sea Guard proved to be a sturdy unit beating out my Eternal Guard. Archers performed as expected, I think? Nothing massive, nothing bad.